Various types of devices are used on skin to lift portions of the skin or to pull sections of skin together. For example, nasal dilators are applied to the bridge of a nose. The nasal dilator typically includes a mechanical spring and adhesive islands at the ends of the spring that adhere to the skin. Once the adhesive is stuck to the skin, the mechanical spring lifts the skin outward. The mechanical spring adds weight and thickness to the overall nasal dilator. Also, the spring area inhibits the moisture at the skin underlying the spring from passing through the nasal dilator increasing the instances of skin maceration.
Standard wound closures are strips of adhesive tape applied over a wound to prevent the skin surrounding the wound from stretching open. However, standard wound closures are often not elastic and therefore although they can prevent the skin from stretching open, they cannot be placed under tension to secure the wound closed.